Briggs’ 22 Points Lead Gators past TCU

The Florida Gators Women’s Basketball defeated the TCU Horned Frogs today 63-54 as Lavender Briggs scored 22 points to lead the Gators.

Lavender Briggs’ Big Night

The junior guard played her best game of the season shooting the ball well and efficiently. She shot 9-16 from the field while knocking down a pair of three-pointers in 36 minutes. Briggs also hauled in six boards and reeled in two steals.

After tonight’s game, Briggs sits at 920 career points and could hit the millennial mark in the next few games. Her performance helped push the Gators to 7-3 on the season.

HOLY MOLY! @lavbriggs up to 22 points! 🥵

📺 XII Now | ESPN+#GoGators pic.twitter.com/rN14zHqA29

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) December 5, 2021

How the Gators got it done

Scoring was easy to come by early on as Florida jumped out to an 11-8 lead after the first media timeout. After the first quarter, TCU had the early advantage with an 18-17 lead.

The game saw a back-and-forth first half which saw a big run by the Gators to end the half. Florida played stout defense at the end of the second quarter ending the half on an 8-0 run.

The Gators played gritty defense from this point on allowing just 36 points the rest of the game. They held the Horned Frogs to 38.5% shooting and put up just eight three-pointers, making three of them.

Defense carried over in to the second half as Florida forced 23 turnovers in the game. A nice defensive play by Jordyn Merritt is just one example of the kind of defense Florida was playing.

Scoop…𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚!

📺 XII Now | ESPN+#GoGators pic.twitter.com/I8k5YA3LPW

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) December 5, 2021

The teams would continue to trade buckets as the game was ending but the Gators began to pull away late; they led by as much as 13 with just over four minutes to go. Despite the late-game lead, it was buckets like this from Briggs that propelled the Gators to the road win.

Much needed bucket!

📺 XII Now | ESPN+#GoGators pic.twitter.com/w833RHg57W

— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) December 5, 2021

Other Notable Stats

Kiki Smith also played a key role in the Gators win. She secured her first double-double of the season scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds while also dishing out seven assists. Smith is now at 1,190 career points which puts her at 22nd all-time in school history.

Despite the game from Briggs and Smith, Florida didn’t shoot the ball well. They shot 24-62 from the field (38.7%) and 2-18 from deep (11.1%). In addition, Merritt was the Gators best player off the bench scoring 12 points and played great defense recording four steals and blocking a shot.

For TCU, they had just two players score in double figures. They’re leading scorer, Lauren Heard, put up 17 points but was inefficient over the course of the 40 minutes. She was 4-15 from the field but was 9-11 from the free throw line while also turning the ball over nine times.

What’s next

Next up for the Gators, they return home for a matchup with the Dayton Flyers. That game will be played Wednesday at 2 p.m.